Mary Whitehouse North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Mary Whitehouse is an emerging textile artist living in York. She is currently studying for a BA in Textiles Practice at Bradford School of Art. She uses discarded materials to create work that challenges people to think about issues of social justice.
Mary is an activist, seeking to raise issues of social justice through textile art by giving a voice to those who suffer injustices, and speaking truth to power through her work.
With an interest in the history of patchwork and quilting as the background for her textile art, recent works have taken traditional techniques and designs and subverted them to make people look twice. Mary combines repurposed textiles with newspaper to create pieces that have echoes of the comfort of a patchwork quilt, but also signify the urgency of the issues that face us today.
A recent work, Uprooted, was a response to Hallville, a Canadian Red Cross Quilt in The Quilters’ Guild Quilt Collection. The original Hallville quilt was made by women in Canada and was given to a family in London, who had been displaced by the Blitz in World War 2. Mary’s response was made to draw attention to the continuing plight of refugees uprooted by war and famine. The work was accepted into the Quilt Collection in September 2025.
Alongside creating work that raise issues of social justice, Mary also works with community groups, including refugees and asylum seekers, using stitching as a tool for bringing people together.
Artwork
No one should die, 2023
Help is Coming, Textile, 2019
WasteAge Coat, Textile, 2022
There is a Better Way, Textile, 2024
Uprooted, Textile and newspaper, 2025
Inside Pages, Textiles and newspaper, 2025
Building Hope, Textiles, paper and porcelain, 2026
Projects and exhibitions
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Bradford School of Art Showcase at Threads Festival16/05/2026 — 17/05/2026 This exhibition showcased work by the first cohort of students from the recently launched degree course BA(Hons) Textiles Practice. Providing a “behind the scenes” look at how Jo, Jenny, Mary and Sharon worked from their initial concepts, towards their final artworks. These fine art, contemporary works cover themes of self-awareness,... [Read more] |
Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, Leeds | Details |
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Building Hope01/09/2025 — 21/05/2026 This project is a response to the negativity and hate promulgated through much of social media, making it hard to be optimistic and thus be to the less open to strangers. Building Hope aims to raise awareness of the small actions we can all do to make our communities a more welcoming place. Using repurposed shirt fabrics references wartime... [Read more] |
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Community Stitching17/03/2025 — ongoing Craft projects with refugees and asylum seekers give an opportunity to slow down and sit with others. It is recognised that this is good for mental health. |
York | Details |